The bigger the competition, the better
After congratulating Olympic silver medal table-tennis duo Ko Lai-chak and Li Ching, Hong Kong's community of sports administrators - from Timothy Fok Tsun-ting down - are already turning up the volume calling for greater government subsidies for sports development.
Whether the solution is ever-more funding, with four years to go before the Beijing Olympics, it is certainly time for reflection because, with almost 7 million residents, one medal puts Hong Kong near the embarrassing bottom of the list of Olympic contenders. The fact that 'our' winners arrived here only a few years ago from the mainland is not uncommon. The Olympic silver medallist in badminton, Mia Audina, who represented the Netherlands, won the same medal for Indonesia four years ago in Sydney. And there are many more examples.
Although Ko and Li fine-tuned their skills at the Hong Kong Sports Institute in Sha Tin, they first learned and developed their skills and combative attitude during school and community competitions in the mainland. Hong Kong's youngsters, despite now being part of China, are denied the same opportunity. It is not that we do not have the facilities; we do not have quality competitors - because we do not have the competitions.
Ensuring Hong Kong's success in sports has very little to do with more subsidies. In fact, the opposite might be true. Cutting back the funding of administrative sports bodies and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department could well be the right medicine, and would force those in power to step down from their thrones and start a struggle for real solutions. Rather than maintaining an insular, Hong-Kong-focused sports world, we need to integrate rapidly with the mainland. Our young talent must be given a chance to compete every day in the many mainland competitions. It is obvious from the publicity surrounding Ko and Li that once Hong Kong residents participate on the mainland, and Chinese athletes compete in Hong Kong, these events will get ample coverage in our newspapers and on our television screens. And not long after that, sponsors, sports agents and advertisers will want to become part of all the publicity.
With that interest will come the money to improve sporting facilities and pay for the specialist coaching which Mr Fok and his fellow administrators are asking for.
As many poor nations that outshine Hong Kong have proved, we do not need the gleaming facilities first. We first need true competition.
One price to pay might be for Hong Kong to give up the anomaly of its independent-nation status in sports. There is very little - except the political and bureaucratic will to do so - that stops Hong Kong entering the professional, amateur, school and university competitions on the mainland.
There is little - except the will to do so - stopping Hong Kong putting out a professional soccer team on a weekly basis against the likes of Shanghai's Shenhua in the China Super League.
There is very little - except the will to do so - that stops our budding table-tennis, badminton, basketball and track stars, and many others with the physique and aptitude, - being able to represent China at the next Olympics in Beijing.
Hong Kong is part of China, and our young people deserve the right to develop their sporting skills as much as any other child in China.
Paul Zimmerman is executive director of MF Jebsen International, principal of the Experience Group, a policy and strategy consultancy, and chief co-ordinator of Designing Hong Kong Harbour District
